Fragile
by balancedbeginning
Summary: ChinaxReader. He has scars that you were not aware of.


You never realized how easy it was for mere clothing to conceal just about anything.

Until tonight, that is.

Hearing the microwave timer ding, you jumped up from the living room to retrieve the fresh popcorn. You simply loved the noise of ripped the bag open, steam flowing up and out, and dumping the warm snack into a colorful bowl.

You knew that China wouldn't really eat a lot of it, give or take any of it, because it wasn't healthy. (Not that you cared.)

Readying the DVD player, you popped the disc of a horror film into the slot and took your place on your cozy couch with your blow of popcorn.

All you had to do now was wait for China to finish his shower and you two would be all set for movie night! (Much to his unwillingness; _"We could be doing something more productive! Your western traditions are so odd sometimes…")_

You were fiddling with the remote when China suddenly appeared.

Looking up at him, your face lit up. You two were pretty much wearing matching pajamas; sweat pants and t-shirts.

At the same time, you found this a little unusual. You had never seen China wear something so casual and revealing, compared to how he normally dresses.

"So, what are we watching exactly, _," he asked, snapping you out of your thought.

"Oh! Um, well, if you don't mind, I chose a scary movie for us to watch tonight. It's called The Ring and I heard it was pretty decent," you replied, noticing the title screen was up and ready to go.

"Fine, that sounds good," he responded, taking a seat next you.

"Hey, if it gets too scary for you, just let me know," you snickered.

"I doubt that will happen; it takes a lot to scare me nowadays," he playfully smirked at you.

Ready to return his smile with a playful punch, something suddenly caught your gaze.

His arms. They were faint, but you could make out rows and columns of scars decorating the arm closest to you.

Now, even though you two had been together for quite some time, you never noticed these before.

Sure, he had shown you the scar that marked his back, but you didn't even think that he had more.

…Most likely from all of the wars and complications he had lived through.

There was something about you and people with scars. You felt uneasy being around the, out of fear that you might hurt them. It's a little difficult to explain properly.

Feeling rather downtrodden, you hadn't noticed that China caught you staring at him.

"Hmm? _? What is it?"

Immediately snapping out of your trance, you quickly replied, "Nothing. Um, could you please turn off the lights?"

Giving you a confused look, China slowly got up to turn the light from the lamp off.

He made his way back to the couch and attempted to put his arm around your shoulders as the movie opening began. But when he saw you recoil away from him, he pulled his arm back, a look of hurt creasing his facial features.

You kept your eyes on the screen, feeling horrible about what you just did. You were just…nervous that you would hurt him if you touched his arm.

It was the main reason why you absolutely refused to touch the scar on China's back, even though he said you could.

Throughout the movie, you two sat awkwardly next to each other, both jumping out of fear from the occasional scene.

All in all, the movie itself wasn't as scary as you hoped it would have been, and you never got to cuddle into China once.

When the movie ended, you went to turn on the lights and looked back to see China make his way to your bedroom, shoulders slumped.

Without really thinking, as if on instinct, your hand made its way to his.

And you led him to the bedroom yourself.

"…"

You brought China to the bad and sat next to him.

Getting over yourself, you gently wrapped your arms around his torso, avoiding his arms, and you buried your face into his chest.

"Hey," you said.

China, clearly not sure at all of what was going on, was shocked to see your body begin to tremble.

"A-aiyaa! _! What's wrong." He asked, placing his arms around you, completely confused at this point.

Sobbing, you shakily replied, "Y-your arms…The s-scars, China, your scars! I-i'm sorry, I'm so s-sorry…"

Understanding you a bit better, China asked, "_, you know…I have lived for long and fought in so many wars…I guess I just accumulated them over time."

Lying down, with you on top of him, China began to rub small circles around the middle of your back.

"W-when I pulled away from you earlier, I was afraid I was going to hurt you," you mumbled quietly into his chest.

Of course, China wasn't mad at you. Only concerned that he had done something wrong. Breathing out a small sigh of relief, he chuckled.

"_, there is nothing you could do that would hurt me. Just stay by my side and I'll be fine. My scars don't hurt anymore because I already let go of the past, for the most part. With you here, I forget about the bad times and I'm truly at ease."

He gently used his thumb to wipe away the tears from your face, and you gave a small smile.

"And _..."

You looked up at him.

"To make up for the lack of attention during the movie, I hope you won't mind me sharing your bed with you, tonight," he smiled, pulling you closer for some much deserved cuddle time.


End file.
